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To close this help window:
click on the 'Exit Help' link located in the upper right of this page, or
to the right of section headings throughout this help page, or
click on the "x" in the upper right corner of this window.
Goals
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Because of Montana’s large size and sparse population, Montana manufacturers often are not aware of other Montana
manufacturers with which they could do business as customers, suppliers, or partners.
The primary goal of the Montana Manufacturers Information System (MMIS) is to eliminate this
‘awareness’ problem by having one place where in-depth and up-to-date information about
Montana manufacturers and service providers can be found. A second goal is to provide
additional exposure to Montana manufacturer’s products and capabilities.
A third goal of the MMIS system is to collect and report accurate information about
manufacturing in Montana to help decision makers make informed decisions.
With the primary goal in mind, the MMIS is designed to be able to store a lot of detailed information about each manufacturer's capabilities and capacities. When updating your profile keep in mind what information a fellow Montana manufacturer would want to know about your company/operation that would help them choose to contact you as a possible customer, supplier or partner.
The MMIS is structured to gather information on each manufacturing facility. So if your company has more than one location, especially if each location's operations differ, list each separately so that they have different profiles.
The updating process uses a series of screens that you negotiate by clicking on the buttons and links within each page. The main screen is the "Update Menu" which you should be able to always get back to by clicking on the "Update Menu" link beneath the MMIS logo in the upper left of each screen.
Whenever you make changes to your profile in one of the screens you must
click on the "Update" button at the bottom of the page for that change to be recorded.
When you are finished editing click on the 
symbol at the
upper right of the screen.
Check to Keep Confidential
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The MMIS is structured to allow for the collection of information that a firm may not want to have published. By clicking on the small boxes under this column a check mark should appear in the box. With the box checked the information it relates to will not be part of the public web site. Use the two veiw links on the update menu (View Complete Information, and View Public Information) to see how choosing this option affects the profile.
We encourage manufacturers to use this feature and provide information that they may not want published because that information can be aggregated accross manufacturing sectors and be used by the MMIS to create reports that will help inform decision makers and the public about the importance of manufacturing in Montana.
An additional reason to provide information that a manufacturer does not want published is that when the managers of the MMIS are contacted directly and are requested to provide information we will not divulge any information that has been designated as confidential. However, if the request appears that it could be of use to the manufacturer who has asked certain items not be published we will contact that manufacturer and let them know that a request was made that they may wish to follow-up.
Facility Name
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This is the full name of the company. If the company has multiple locations it should
include something that distinguishes it from other locations.
Examples:
City
Physical address
Physical zipcode
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Enter where the facility is physically located. This could be different from the city that
is listed for mailing
in the contacts section. One possible use for this would be for the delivery of shipments or packages that
go directly to the facility. If the facility is difficult to find the physical address field can
be used to supply a brief description of how to get to the facility.
For some facilities that do not want customers or others to come to the actual facility you may want to
desginate these fields as Confidential. We do ask that the 'City' field on this
page be the city where the facility is located as this allows us to accurately report on how manufacturing activity is
distributed in Montana.
State
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Enter the two letter state code for the state this facility is located in.
Example: MT
Sales for previous calendar year
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To provide us with this information and not include it in your published
profile use the checkbox to the right of the field under the heading
Check to keep confidential
Current full time equivalent employees (FTE)
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Enter the current number of full time equivalent employees that work at this facility in manufacturing.
You can include fractional numbers such as 10.25. If employment varies in a regular way (i.e. seasonal)
then give an average that would apply to a whole year.
Website
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Enter the website address for this facility. Do not include the "http://" portion of the address.
It is the goal of the MMIS to get potential customers, partners, etc. to be able to connect directly with
manufactures as quickly as possible. So if you have a website and enter the address here we will have two
places in your profile that link to your site.
Year Established
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Enter the four-digit year that the facility or company started in business.
This information gives users information about how long the company has been in business which
can be an indicator of experience and quality.
Facility description
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This entry can be used to describe your facility or as a general comment, promotional line, etc.
It appears toward the top of the profile, just above the section that shows contacts. This description
field can be up to 250 characters long.
Examples:
Primary Business
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Select from this list the primary business activity that takes place at this facility. Primary business
activity here would be determined by what kind of activity occupies the highest percentage of employee's
time.
Many manufacturing operations take place as part of a larger business activity. For example,
a wholesale industrial supply business may also manufacture or assemble certain pieces of equipment. The
MMIS is not limited to companies that only manufacturer, but for any Montana company that as part of its
business, manufacturers something and/or provides industrial services. We are interested in knowing where
manufacturing takes place in Montana not only from a geographical point of view, but also how it is
associated with other business activities.
Manufacturing Classification
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Each facility in the MMIS is classified into one category so that users can more easily find certain
companies by "type of manufacturing".
We also use this classification to combine information about companies for reporting purposes.
The categories come from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), a standard federal system.
Feel free to skip this
part of the profile if you do not know your six (6) character NAICS classificiation.
If we have you classified in a way you feel is not accurate,
please contact us and let us know.
We realize that there are many limitations to trying to classify what can be a complex
business into one general category.
For more information about the NAICS click here.
Contacts section
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Remember to click on the "Update" button at the bottom of this screen after making any changes, additions
or deletions. If you do not make any changes then use the "Update Menu" option just below the
MMIS logo to continue editing/upating your profile. If you are finished with editing/updating
your profile click on the symbol at the upper right.
The MMIS can list a large number of contacts for each facility. We need at least one contact
for each facility. It is not necessary that there be an individual's name, just a title is enough.
Like the general information section some information in the contacts section can be left confidential. This
is especially helpful if the contact for the MMIS administrators is not an appropriate contact to list on the
public profile. Just check the box next to the "Check to keep confidential" and then go to the "update
menu" to see how it affects the public profile. For more information on this confidentiality feature
click here.
Use the "DETAIL" button with each contact to provide additional contact information such as phone, fax, email, etc.
Delete a Contact
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If you want to remove a contact from your profile, check the box. A message will appear and
warn you that this contact will be removed from the MMIS. Click OK on the message window and it
will go away. You can now either uncheck the box and preserve the contact, or proceed and click
on the "Update" button at the bottom of this screen. Once you have clicked on the "Update" button
any contact whose delete box was checked will no longer appear.
DETAIL Button
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By clicking on this button a new screen will appear that allows details to be added to a contact's information.
These details include mailing address, phone and fax numbers, along with some other information.
Like the rest of the MMIS we encourage you to add these details, especially for at least one contact,
but they are not necessary for your profile to be listed in the MMIS.
Add New Contacts
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Use these fields to add a new contacts to your profile. After filling in the Name & Title fields,
click on the "Update" button below. The screen should refresh and the name(s) you added will be
listed above where you can click on the "DETAIL" button to add more information for the new contact(s).
Contact For:
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The MMIS profile can list contacts and indicate what their role is (in addition to their title).
If you want a profile to indicate a contact's role check the box(s) next to the appropriate role for that
contact. Be sure to click on the "Update" button at the bottom of this window. We
suggest that at least the first option "General Inquiries" be checked for one contact.
Use the "Updates for this directory" option at the bottom of this list to let us know who in your organization we, at the MMIS, should contact if there are questions about your profile. This last option in the "Contact For:" list does not display in the public profile. If this is the only option checked in this list then the contact will not display at all.
How do you prefer we contact you?
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Select one of these communication methods to let us know how you would prefer that we contact you about
your profile in the MMIS.
In the future we plan to use this information to tailor how contact information in the profile is presented to users.
Product/Service List
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Here is where you list the products and services that you offer or can provide. There is no limit to the number
of products that can be added here, but we would advise that you limit the number of products and use terms that denote
familiar categories rather than a detailed list of products.
For example: rather than listing "2x4", "2x6", "2x8", "2x10", etc., you may wish to list "dimension lumber,
all sizes". It may also help to list the range of products you produce such as: "dimension lumber up to 12" x
12" x 20'"
Notes about the "Product or Service" field:
- can be up to 100 characters long
- use terms that users will search for
- list some products more than once if they are known by different terms
For example: "Prefabricated buildings" and "storage sheds"
- additional information about each product (see DETAIL below)
- products will be listed alphabetically by Type/Status (see below)
Product Type/Status
Each product can be classified as to whether it is a "primary product", "secondary product", "surplus product"
or "waste product". You can also list "production capabilities" and "expertise" that you
may not consider
to be a product but are willing to provide other firms. For example: you manufacture a specialty
food item that you vaccum pack in foil bags and you are willing to contract your packaging ability to another
firm under the right circumstances. An example of expertise would be if you have employees that
are certified to set-up and calibrate special machinery. Another company
has the same machinery but not the ability to set-up and calibrate it, they could contract with you to have
your employees do a periodic calibration because their
operators are not quaified to calibrate the equipment. In the profile the primary products are listed
first in alphabetic order, followed by the secondary products, also in alphabetic order.
Check to keep condfidential
Firms can list products, etc. in the MMIS but not have them displayed in their public profile.
Delete
If you want to remove a product from your profile, check the box. A message will appear and
warn you that this product will be removed from the MMIS. Click OK on the message window and it
will go away. You can now either uncheck the box and preserve the product, or proceed and click
on the "Update" button at the bottom of this screen. Once you have clicked on the "Update" button
any product whose delete box was checked will no longer appear.
Add Product or Service Here
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Use these fields to add a new product/service to your profile. After filling in the product and selecting the
type of product from the pull-down box,
click on the "Update" button below. The screen should refresh and the product(s) you added will be
listed above where you can click on the "DETAIL" button to add more information for that product/service.
Product/Service Details
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Enter any appropriate details, up to 250 characters, about the product or service here. This could be information
that gives the user an indication of the quality, dimensions, characteristics or limitations of the product.
These details will appear below the product enclosed in paranthesis in a smaller font.
Examples:
Product/Service Details - capacity
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Use these three field to list your capacity for producing a given product. Again you can check the "keep capacity info
confidential" box so that the capacity info is not displayed to the public. In the field labeled "Capacity" enter only
numeric digits. In the "Unit of Measure" field enter the units that correspond to the capacity and include a time period
as well.
Examples:
You can complete the capacity information on any product you have listed or none. In deciding whether to enter
information in this section you may want to keep in mind that the purpose of the MMIS
is to provide useful information about your business to other Montana manufacturers that could be potential
customers, suppliers or partners. You may want to include this information for only your main or core products.
Or you may want to detail capacity information in the Equipment/Process section of your profile.
Product/Service Details - Production
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Enter the total production for the previous calendar year for this product in numbers only. Be sure that
you use the same units of measure as in the capacity section above. If you have skipped the
capacity fields but want to complete the production field then fill in the capacity "unit of measure" field
only. Again you can check the "keep production info
confidential" box so that the capacity information is not displayed to the public.
Product/Service Details - Sales
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Enter the annual sales for this product here. Do not include the dollar sign ($) or commas (,).
Product/Service Details - private label
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Are you, the manufacturer of this product, willing to have it sold under another name. Private labelling
is a very common practise though some companies are not willing to have some or any of their products sold in this
manner. If you are willing to private label this product check the box in front of "Will private label
this product". This option can be skipped and may not be applicable.
Equipment or Process Information
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Given that the primary goal of the MMIS is to inform Montana manufacturers about their peers in the state
this section of the MMIS may be the most critical. If a manufacturer needs help in the form of advice, someone to
subcontract out to, or partner with, he/she will look for a firm with the right processes and/or equipment regardless
of the products that may be produced. So keeping this in mind list your processes and equipment in a way that tells
other manufacturers about your capabilities and capacities.
There may be overlap between the products/services list and equipment/processes list. Feel free to list items in both sections if that seems appropriate.
The text-box for "Equipment or Process" can contain up to 250 characters.
By clicking on the "DETAIL" button you can add information about each piece of equipment or process. See below.
As with other pieces of information you can choose to keep any process or equipment item confidential.
Delete
If you want to remove an equipment or process from your profile, check the box under the "Delete" column. A message will appear and
warn you that this equipment will be removed from the MMIS. Click OK on the message window and it
will go away. You can now either uncheck the box and preserve the equipment/process, or proceed and click
on the "Update" button at the bottom of this screen. Once you have clicked on the "Update" button
any eqiupment/process whose delete box was checked will no longer appear.
Add Equipment or Processes Here
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Use these fields to add a new equipment or process(s) listing to your profile.
After filling in the equipment or process
click on the "Update" button below. The screen should refresh and the equipment/process(s) you added will be
listed above where you can click on the "DETAIL" button to add more information for that equipment or process.
Details for equipment or process
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Add any detailed information about a specific piece of equipment or process here. This information could include
the brand of the equipment, it's capacity, how many of the pieces of the equipment you have, operational details
or other details that
provide information about your firms abilities. While some users of this system may be very familiar with the
technical jargon of your industry others may not and you may (or may not) want to write the details for an
equipment/process with a more general audience in mind.
Details for equipment or process
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Capacity
Use these three field to list the capacity for a given piece of equipment or process. Again you can check
the "keep capacity info
confidential" box so that the capacity info is not displayed to the public. In the field labeled
"Capacity" enter only numeric digits, no commas (,). In the "Unit of Measure" field enter the units that correspond to
the capacity and include a time period as well if appropriate.
For some firms listing capacity in the eqipment/process section may make more sense then listing it in the Product/Service section. If, for example, a firm produces a large number of products from the same piece of equipment then listing the equipment once in this section with detail and capacity information may be better than listing detail and capacity information for each product.
Certifications, Licenses, Permits, etc
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More and more areas of endeavor are adopting certification programs as a way to differentiate people and firms.
For some industries (such as food processing) certain licences and permits have been a requirement for many years.
This section
of the MMIS is an opportunity for each manufacturer to list any certifications, licenses, permits, etc. (cert/lic/permits) that will
enable it to further describe its capabilities. These cert/lic/permits could be for the whole facility, a piece of equipment,
a process, a department, or even a team or individual. This section of the MMIS is designed so that whatever scope or
limitation the cert/lic/permit has can be explained.
Name
Enter the full or official name of the cert/lic/permit here. This field is limited to 100 characters.
If the name exceeds 100 characters we suggest editing it so that it is clear what the cert/lic/permit
means and applies to.
Standard Abbreviation
In this field list the common, or standard abbreviation for the cert/lic/permit. If someone were looking
for a specific cert/lic/permit this is what they would likely search for. This field is limited to 25
characters.
DETAIL
Clicking on this button will open a window where more details for a cert/lic/permit can be added.
Check to keep confidential
As with other pieces of information you can choose to keep any cert/lic/permit confidential.
Delete
If you want to remove a cert/lic/permit from your profile, check the box under the "Delete" column.
A message will appear and
warn you that this Certification will be deleted from the MMIS. Click OK on the message window and it
will go away. You can now either uncheck the box and preserve the cert/lic/permit, or proceed and click
on the "Update" button at the bottom of this screen. Once you have clicked on the "Update" button
any cert/lic/permit(s) whose delete box was checked will no longer appear.
Add New Certifications Here
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Use these fields to add a new cert/lic/permit listing to your profile.
After filling in the Name and Standard Abbreviation fields
click on the "Update" button below. The screen should refresh and the cert/lic/permit(s) you added will be
listed above where you can click on the "DETAIL" button to add more information for that cert/lic/permit.
Certifications, etc Details
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Use these two fields to further explain the cert/lic/permit to users of the MMIS.
Description
Describe this cert/lic/permit. For example: who issues the cert/lic/permit,
what is involved in getting it, how many, or few, other firms have this cert/lic/permit, what it means in terms of
your firm's abilities. This field is limited to 250 characters.
Limitations
Use this field to make clear any limitations that apply to this cert/lic/permit. This could
include information that the cert/lic/permit applies to only certain products, equipment, processes, personnel,
etc.; or that it expires at a certain time; or that it is limited geographically. This field is also
limited to 250 characters.
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Please contact Montana Manufacturers Information System if you need assistance:
406-243-4009
mmis@business.umt.edu
fax: 406-243-2086
